The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1887-02-26
THE MEXICAN CAPITAL.
THE LIVES OF THE VERY POOR
IN A GREAT CITY.

the Very Poor-Picture. of Poverty.
Death.
A walk Of only five minutes at the most
from the lower end of the alameda or public
garden will take you to a section rapidly
building up with houses Of good class. 1t is
"a section where the land is perhaps two feet
higher than in the center of the city. These
new streets are paved, and along one Of
them the electric light gives nightly iilumi-
nation. Being q new section-paTt OF the
garden of the now confiscated convent Of San
Fernando-there are-some vacant lots where
q number of poor laborers have squattsd,
taking the left over remnants Of houses
blocks of refuse stone, etc., to make their
huts or jacales, they are called Here in
this section, amid new houses, graceful, with
pretty patios, filed with well people,
live in their huts the families will intro
duce you to. They are not the sort Of
Indians have just been talking about, but
a higher grade and with some ambition to
rise In the world
First let Us take this queer, tent like hut
in a vacant lot where workmen are just be
ginning house building operations. A New
England lad playing at being q red Indian
in his fathers backyard would disdain such
q wigwam. Ii il made of pieces of half
rotten boards, some refuse tin roo0ng and .
decayed straw mat. Its capacity IN about
that of four persons packed close. This is
the home of Jose and SimOna an industrious
married pair, who have in family a grown
up daughter and her husband, the latter
working away from home and coming there
only to sleep, ~ Simona says, and then !
wonder how they can find room to sleep in
the tiny hut. Simona and her married
daughter make tortillas, which the latter
peddle on the streets of the poorer sections of
the town. This daughter has two little chill
dren, one a bright looking lad Of 3, whose
brown skin shows through his ragged cotton
shirt, and the other . tiny girl Of 2, who is
clad in bit of All old cotton rebo~o Of the
mothers tied around her waist and with an
other rag tied around her body. The work
which Jose has Is precarious. In q neigh
boring street the residents hire him to sweep
doors, and he sometimes earns reales =
day, or 3714 cents, equal to about 80 cents
American money
The daily food Of this family when Jose Is
working regularly consists Of frijoles, tor
tillas and chile. Whom Jose is out Of work
the women MUS earn enough to supports the
family, and Simona assures US that there is
then ''muy POGO" which could be translated
.'mighty little" Industrious woman! A
iay of steady toll does not bring her 4
profit of over l215 cents. House rent they
-
lots. They have no hope in life and conse-
quentIy ambition. Jose may, some day,
get "a place where he can take care Of horses
and earn, at the best, twice what he now
gets But that is the dream-merely the
vaguest sort Of a dream-of this worthy
couple. Even a miserable hereto may
succor the poor and distressed, so l give
them few silver coins and send them some
warm garments to keep the winter chill out Of
tha ,hillren's homes and Uet pra vol for
regularly for good many nights. The old
phrase of Spain, Los pobres de Dios''-
Coils poor-fts well to such q family. They
have no hous,, no land and little food, but
they trust to the Creator who has seemingly
deprived them of all that makes life worth
the living, n good example for the rest Of
US grumblng folk.
Almost directly opposite the home Of
Smona and the worthy Jose in an adobe hut
about twelve feet square and high enough to
permit your standing upright. The furni-
ture consists of mats for beds, q stool or
two IA very rude table and a few prints cut
from illustrated papers given by charitable
child who knows the family. This is the
home of bright faced Indian woman,
Concha, and her husband Jose Maria, who
have lone child, boy named appropriately
Soledad or Solitude. The family take care
of a fenced in cornield, and the husband
Their total income is ~ cents per day, or 50
cents American money. A short time ago
this family had everything stolen from their
home while they were attending some cele-
bration But they met what was to them q
big disaster with stout hearts. They have
now nearly re plenished their humble home.
As Jose Maria has regular employmen the
family think themselves fortunate. They
dress in cotton garments, which are not any
fnn. yVa nj Va ha
air Is cold.
On vacant lot adjoining the field under
the care of the couple Just mentioned is . hut
made of refuse stone from some house. IL
Is occupied by a family rejoicing in the regal
appellation of Reyes, or Kings. Jacobo and
Maria REYES consider themselves on JACOBS
income OF 81 ~ cents per day, or 80 cents
American money, quite fortunate. The man
works FOR private gentleman, caring for
his horses. The wife and her grown up chill
dren make tortillas in which are rolled up
cheese, chile, potato meat, sold on the
streets. and probably tho average daily in
come il i5 cents, 80 cents American
money Their hut is about twelve feet
square and so low that Jacobo must needs
stoop bit to enter. A cast OF pine door
from some house serves as q protection
against the outer worh at the entrance;
but. except when sleeping, the family live in
up to this family, there being a vague report
that they own the land their hut stands on.
,Jacobo complains that his women folk spend
the larger part of his earnings ON their
clothes, but they certainly do not bedeck
themselves in iinery.
Diagonally opposite is the house Of adobe
occupi Il by tie Carrera family who tend a
lot and keep robbers away from a storehouse
where are kept lime, gravel and sand for
masons' use. They receive daily payment
of 81. cents. They have two children and
IA dog. As the wife can easily keep the lot
and guard the storehouse, the husband is
seeking work Think of getting married on
80 cents American money per day, the price
of pound Of beefsteak.
One more family remains to be mentioned.
There are seven of them, and they also oc
cupy vacant lot, ON which they have .
kitchen made of refuse building stone, the
whole about seven feet square, and q small